Makarand Hastak

Researchers at Purdue University are working toward a solution to help minimize risks associated with power outages caused by severe weather events, such as the recent series of hurricanes that devastated several nations. "Makarand Hastak, professor and head of Construction Engineering and Management, is leading a multidisciplinary team of researchers in a project titled Towards a Resilient Grid: An Investment Prioritization Decision Framework that Integrates the Growing Risks of Severe Weather-Induced Outages, funded by a $468,851 grant from the National Science Foundation. Sayanti Mukherjee, a recent PhD graduate whose dissertation was the basis for this research, will be working on the project as a postdoctoral research assistant. The multidisciplinary team also includes Roshanak Nateghi, an assistant professor in the School of Industrial Engineering and in Environmental and Ecological Engineering, and Wallace E. Tyner, a professor in agricultural economics, as Co-Principal Investigators."

Researchers have created a computer model that predicts how a disaster's impact on critical infrastructure would affect a city's social and economic fabric, a potential tool to help reduce the severity of impacts, manage the aftermath of catastrophe and fortify infrastructure against future disasters. "The model works for any type of disaster that influences the infrastructure," said Makarand Hastak, head of construction engineering and management and a professor of civil engineering at Purdue University. "If we can identify in advance the most vulnerable elements of the critical infrastructure, then we can take proactive measures to reinforce them or at least find alternatives."

Makarand (Mark) Hastak, professor both of civil engineering and management and of construction engineering and management at Purdue University, has joined Cornell as American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow for the 2013-14 academic year. He started his Cornell work Sept. 18. Hastak will focus his efforts on the Administrative Streamlining Program and the process of capital budget and planning. His office will be in Day Hall and his efforts will be coordinated by the Division of Budget and Planning.